The Flip Side to Everything
by Erelevance
Summary: Ciel, an infamous assassin, finds a demon girl in the outskirts of town one night. Deciding to take her home on a whim, he finds out that she cannot remember anything except for her name: "Lu." Lu's childlike innocence reminds him of himself when he was younger, so he decides to take her in. However, one night, Lu is targeted, leaving Ciel to protect her...or die for her.


**Prologue**

* * *

><p>She lounged on the black leather couch, her tiffany blue dress spilling onto the ground around her. In front of her was a massive midnight black claw that stretched out towards a crystal orb that sat on the table a few feet away. She was idly tracing the sharp curves of the claw with her index finger, occasionally drawing circles in the palm of the magic gauntlet.<p>

"Mistress," said a maid from a corner of the room, bowing down deeply at the sight of her. "I have urgent news."

"What is it, Eraline?" she replied, not quite paying attention despite the words _urgent news_ being uttered.

The maid let out an exasperated sigh at her unbelievable mistress. _More like unbelievably lazy, _Eraline dryly thought. "Please check your El Orstyl," she suggested, referring to the crystal orb that was currently swirling with fog, obscuring anything from coming through.

"Alright, alright." The woman heaved herself off of the couch and reached out to tap on the orb, then bent down to blow on it. The fog instantly cleared up, allowing them access to the chaotic scene unfolding before them. "What," she instantly said, staring at the massive crowd of demons gathering at the front gate of the King's palace. "What happened?"

Eraline pushed her round-rimmed glasses up, feeling finally useful now that she had gotten her mistress's attention. She fixed her crooked bun at the back of her head before speaking, a light brown lock of hair falling into her eyes as she did. "The king," she began, "is dead."

The woman began to finger a strand of her white hair. "Dead?" she echoed, her sky blue eyes glimmering with anticipation. "How?"

The maid paused for a second before continuing. "No one is sure, Mistress. There are many speculations, but none are known to be true. However, the main issue as of nowー"

"ーis that the throne is left wide open, isn't it?" she interrupted, excitement easily displayed across her face. Her lips widened into a smile as she picked the gauntlet up and slid her hand into it. The pair to the gauntlet appeared within a sudden burst of blue flames, sucking in the freezing air and turning it into warmth. The fire gave the mistress a strange glow; her eyes, a four-pointed star as her pupils, seemed to shine brighter than the blazing gauntlets.

With a swift movement, she crushed the orb with the gauntlet.

"Mistress!" Eraline cried, shocked at what she had done. "Those El Orstyls only come one-of-a-kind! You won't be able to replace it!" The crystal orb broke into mere pieces of glass that trickled out of her loosely-closed hand.

"You see," said the woman, tossing the remnants of it away, "I don't need it anymore." She waved her gauntlets away; in response, they curled off of her hands in the form of black, wispy mist. "Eraline?"

"Y-Yes?" stuttered the maid, only now just remembering how chaotic her mistress actually was.

"Don't be so surprised," said the woman, her eyes widening. She flashed the maid a reassuring grin. "He was bound to die, anyway. It's about time he hightailed out of the demon realm. The El Orstyl was given to those who received orders from him, and now that he isn't here, it isn't necessary anymore."

"Y-You're right," she replied, her head inclined ever-so-slightly downwards. "Forgive me."

"I always do." The woman shut her eyes closed, breathing in. "Alright. There are going to be lots of skirmishes, and maybe a war or two... But, Eraline, trust me. I'll make it up to the very top and become the queen of this realm. And I'd, of course, still allow you to serve me, even if you're human."

The corners of Eraline's mouth lifted, although she made sure her mistress didn't see it. "Thank you."

"Humans are pretty interesting, after all," she commented. "I might even make a visit to the human world once I'm done taking over this place."

"You sound as if you have already conquered the demon realm."

"I have," she replied, a mischievous glint to her eyes. "In the near future, that is." She smoothed the wrinkles out of her long, flowing dress and straightened up. "I have the most territory out of every demon in this world. All I have left is to take over the palace. However, if I'm going to do that, it means I should start preparing..."

"The general, Mistress?"

"Ah, Karis?" she asked, pulling a pair of black gloves up past her elbows. "Yep."

"Then." Eraline excused herself from the room and scurried down the winding hallways of the mansion.

Outside of the house, a pink-haired succubus waited, her purple tail lashing impatiently as she did. She inspected her lengthy nails, her bat wings flaring open when she took notice of the maid opening the door. "Hello, Eraline," she said coolly. "What was her response?"

The maid bowed. "To claim the palace."

At this, Karis licked her lips, a pointed tongue darting out to go over her mouth. "Good." She carefully watched the maid go back into the mansion, then turned to the mass of bloodthirsty demons behind her and raised her hand to silence them. "Who here follows _her?_"

A few dark hands went up. "Fools!" she immediately cried. "Fools. Those who follow I, _Karis_, the general?"

More than three-fourths of the crowd had their hands raised. "Good," she said. "And why do we not follow the ruler of this territory? Why are we going to betray her? Because," she said, her voice dropping down into a hissing whisper, "because _she is a _**fool**. She would rather play and frolic with humans than to eat them. She adores those insects, preferring to keep them satisfied rather than terrified. Instead of feasting on the prey that we, demons, naturally crave, she eats human food instead. She keeps a **human maid**, for devils' sake! She is not a demon. With all these terrible qualities, how can she be even considered one?"

The question rang out in the silence; even the trees that were usually rustling in the wind had grown quiet. There was no one to oppose Karis's authority. "Who here," she started again, "follows _her?_"

Not a single soul stirred.

"Who here follows I, Karis?"

This time, every single hand was raised.

She smiled triumphantly, throwing her head back as she laughed. "You have chosen the right choice," she said. "Now..."

"Who is ready to overthrow this foolish _queen _of ours?"

A roar of approval ripped through the eternal darkness, unbeknownst to both maid and ruler waiting inside the mansion.


End file.
